THIRTY PLUS YEARS AGO, SOLAR ENERGY IDEAS FACED THE SAME TIRED ARGUMENTS- “TOO EXPENSIVE”, “TECHNOLOGY NEEDS MORE WORK”, “NOT PRACTICAL”, “LET THE UTILITY COMPANIES DEVELOP IT, AND CHARGE US”…  This was in response to -then new- ideas on solar panels for individual home use. there were two systems vying for attention:

Active systems, which involved tracking the sun’s path, so the panels always faced directly at the sun, and Passive systems; their advantage was no moving parts to break down, but the angled design would gain the most possible from the sun’s rays.

People wanted to “let George do it”.

Here we are, today, with companies willing to do the groundwork, research and development, and offer viable systems, YET THEY FACE VIOLENT OPPOSITION.

I could go on and on.  ANY start up project has higher index costs, which become lower and lower, the more the technology is used. Especially if it’s a good design, with  a high rate of efficiency. WHY must we look at persuing this as wrong?  Given the free market, and the improved technology in almost every other avenue we take so for granted today, WHY NOT SOLAR?

Air travel,  Automobiles, Manufacturing techniques,  Telecommunications, to name a few; bear little if any resemblance to their humble beginnings.

WE COULD FARM THE ENTIRE SOUTHWEST, AND PROVIDE THE BULK OF THE NATIONS ELECTRICITY NEEDS WITHIN THE NEXT THIRTY YEARS  IF WE QUIT ACTING LIKE THE PROVERBIAL “MISSOURI MULES”.  That would be a real kick in OPEC’s backside, and put a huge dent in oil prices.

The only argument they offer , which bears some merit is: With all the government assistance they received, why would user costs have to be 50% higher?

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE REPOSTED  FROM: http://thatmrgguy.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/deserts-are-useless-right-solar-boondoggle-subsidized-by-feds-destroying-parts-of-mojave-desert/#comment-8852

Deserts Are Useless, Right? Solar Boondoggle Subsidized By Feds Destroying Parts Of Mojave Desert

Via Twitter

From Donald Douglas of American Power, we have this post about the enormous Federal subsidies going to Bright Star, a Solar Power company. Global Warmists have acquiesced to the potential of destroying thousands of desert acreage for the purpose of building a huge solar farm.

Hey, as a kid, we used to do a lot of hiking and camping in the SoCal deserts.

The development of a solar power plant in the Mojave will decimate large swaths of the desert — all in the name of creating alternative energy sources and driven by global warming hysteria. Both the Bush and Obama administrations share the blame. Tens of billions of dollars have been made available for the development of non-fossil fuel burning energy sources, and the costs to the consumer will be substantially higher than that of traditional sources — and that’s to say nothing of the costs to taxpayers in the subsidies going to fund this boondoggle.

It’s pretty messed up all around, but the inevitable result of a regulatory state that would make the old Soviet bureaucrats proud.

See, “Sacrificing the desert to save the Earth“:
For decades, America’s Western deserts have been dusty storehouses for government scrap, a lode for minerals, a staging ground for tanks and military maneuvers.

But the thrum of industry is afoot, bringing Space Age technology and a bustling sense of urgency.

The BrightSource solar plant stands as an exclamation point in the desert.

The $2-billion plant is an amalgam of gadgetry designed to wring the maximum energy from the sun. Computers continually focus the field of mirrors to a center tower filled with water, which will heat to more than 1,000 degrees. The resulting steam drives an array of turbines capable of generating 370 megawatts, enough to power roughly 140,000 homes during peak hours.

Capturing a free and clean source of energy is not cheap. Solar is the Cadillac of energy, with capital costs and other market factors making it three times more expensive than natural gas or coal.

Hmmm…three times more expensive than fossil fuel sources of power. Imagine that.

Ratepayers’ bills will be as much as 50% higher for renewable energy, according to an analysis from the consumer advocate branch of the state Public Utilities Commission.

What has opened the way for such a costly source of energy is the dramatic turn in federal policy.

As early as 2005, the Bush administration established generous programs to reward renewable energy developers.

The Obama administration sweetened the pot, offering $45 billion in federal tax credits, guaranteed loans and grants.     (enlarged font my emphasis  “X”)

And power bills will increase by at least fifty percent? Wow…I thought “free” power was supposed to be cheaper. Guess not, eh.